Knuckles Clan
The Knuckles Clan is an ancient tribe of echidnas from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Existing some 4,000+ years before the events of the games, the Knuckles were among the strongest civilizations of their time. While originally a peaceful people, they reached a state of regular aggression and warfare against their neighbours prior to their society's downfall. The clan was almost wiped out after incurring the wrath of Chaos, a water spirit that protected the Chaos Emeralds. While some members of the clan survived, their numbers would dwindle over the passing of centuries. In the modern era, Knuckles the Echidna is the last surviving descendant of the clan and the only known living echidna in the world. Culture The men of the Knuckles Clan sported white, intricate tattoos on their heads and arms and wore gloves similar to those of Knuckles. The men were also the only members of the tribe to possess the spiky protrusions/knuckles from their gloves. The women primarily worked on agricultural/domestic projects, staying at home to clean and care for the children. Only males wore boxing gloves while females wore normal gloves with visible fingers. During Chief Pachacamac's rule, the Knuckles Clan were very warlike and hungry for conquest, and took delight in pillaging and razing villages to the ground. War would bring one great honour. They were also very patriarchal, with the men seemingly dominating all aspects of life, both domestic and public, especially political. Politics The Knuckles Clan were a chiefdom in political organization, being ruled by a chieftain. There was no democracy, and the ruler was absolute in the chief's authority. Interestingly, the Knuckles Clan appeared to be both peaceful and matriarchal before the rise of Pachacamac. The former chief, Tikal's grandmother, was very wise and loving and unwavering in her devotion to peace. Pachacamac, however, turned the Clan into a band of murderous warriors and bandits, subjugating neighboring tribes to their barbaric rule. In a short time, Pachacamac quickly turned his nation into a force to be reckoned with. Spirituality The Knuckles Clan echidnas appeared to worship the serpent, and incorporated it into their architecture of the Shrine and pillars, but not everyday folks' homes. Also, many of the doors inside and out of the Shrine is the shape of a fanged snake's mouth. All of the designs were very detailed, and were used to decorate many buildings and pillars, as well as the eyes of the snake-doors and entrance to the Altar of Emeralds. The Knuckles Clan also held the Chaos Emeralds in reverence, such as in the ancient recitation:- "The servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power, Power is enriched by the heart, The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos." History The Knuckles Clan were once a peaceful society, though in the years prior to their downfall, they had entered an age of barbarism, attacking neighbouring nations, plundering whatever treasures and resources they wanted and killing anyone that dared to oppose them. They had established a city in a region that would be known in the modern era as the Mystic Ruins. In the centre of this city was a great temple where the Knuckles Clan worshipped a great serpent, a beast of astonishing might that, if angered, would bring about destruction on an incalculable scale. Growing steadily greedier and more arrogant as time went on, the Knuckles Clan dreamt of having their empire encompass the world. However, they were unable to take control of the nearby Altar of Emeralds, as a mysterious force kept them at bay. While the majority of the Knuckles Clan supported Pachacamac for the wealth and power he had given them, Pachacamac's peace-loving daughter Tikal severely opposed her father's warmongering. Eventually, the Knuckles Clan's expanding borders began pushing against those of the Nocturnus Clan, a rival echidna clan led by Imperator Ix. In a war of expansion, the Knuckles Clan fought the Nocturnus Clan in a constant bloody conflict for supremacy, where neither side refused to yield. The Knuckles Clan was ultimately pushed to its doom when the Nocturnus Clan began prosecuting the conflict by attacking with their prototype Gizoid robots. In a supposed act of desperation in the face of his clan's destruction, Pachacamac sought to steal the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald from the Altar of the Emeralds by force, believing they were the keys to the Knuckles Clan's survival and continued victories. However, Tikal, who had befriended the Chao and their guardian Chaos at the altar, pleaded him not to go through with his plan. Despite her daughter's pleas, Pachacamac orchestrated a violent attack on the altar with his warriors, where Tikal and the local Chao tried to stop their theft. Pachacamac, however, ignored Tikal's pleas for a peaceful resolution and had his men trample over them. This profound act of indiscrimination enraged Chaos, corrupting it with anger. In retaliation, it transformed into Perfect Chaos with the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Killing Pachacamac and his men, Chaos laid waste to the Knuckles Clan civilization and wiped out nearly the whole clan overnight. Before Chaos could destroy the rest of the world, Tikal sealed Chaos within the Master Emerald, even sealing her own spirit with the vengeful creature in hopes of calming it. In the aftermath of Chaos' rampage, the world was forever changed; the Knuckles Clan's city had been destroyed with only its central temple remaining intact, and the landmass surrounding the Altar of Emeralds had uplifted from the planet's surface and ascended into the sky, becoming Angel Island. The surviving echidnas on Angel Island would, from that point on, dedicate their lives to guarding the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds to ensure that a disaster like the one that befell their clan would never happen again. By the modern era, the Knuckles Clan has all but completely died out, its only surviving descendant being Knuckles the Echidna. Knuckles has lived alone on Angel Island since birth with little knowledge of his race and heritage beyond his responsibilities as Guardian of the Master Emerald. Even most earthbound scholars have been unable to learn anything of significance from the Mystic Ruins left behind by the ancient Knuckles Clan. Members Pachacamac Pachacamac was the last chieftain of the Knuckles Clan, a title that he apparently inherited from his mother. Under his rule, the clan became more patriarchal and was driven by violence; Pachacamac initiated many military campaigns, leading his clan in the slaughter and conquest of many countries, pillaging whatever they could to gain greater wealth and power. Eventually, Pachacamac set his sights on the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald, recognising the gems' magical properties. His daughter Tikal tried desperately to dissuade him from desecrating the Emerald Shrine, but the chieftain ignored her pleas and ordered his men to press onward, trampling several Chao to death. This angered the emeralds' guardian spirit, Chaos, who killed Pachacamac and his warriors in a fit of rage. Tikal Tikal was the daughter of the clan chieftain Pachacamac. Unlike her father, she was a deeply spiritual echidna and an advocate of peace, believing that her father's warmongering ways were leading the Knuckles Clan down a path of ruin. When her clan discovered the Altar of Emeralds, Tikal befriended Chaos and the Chao that resided there and was allowed to set foot there freely. Despite repeated attempts to make her clansmen leave the Emerald Shrine alone, Tikal was ultimately unable to stop her father from invading the shrine and slaughtering the native Chao. She watched as Chaos succumbed to murderous rage and killed her father and countrymen. Seeing that Chaos had gone out of control, Tikal used her spiritual connection to the Master Emerald to seal Chaos inside it, even going so far as to seal herself inside the Emerald as well in an effort to calm Chaos' raging heart. Four thousand years later, both Tikal and Chaos were released from confinement when the Master Emerald was shattered by Doctor Eggman. Tikal's spirit appeared as an orb of light that guided Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends as they searched for the Chaos Emeralds and attempted to thwart Eggman's plans. After Chaos absorbed the negative energy of the Emeralds and destroyed Station Square, Tikal was prepared to seal Chaos inside the Master Emerald once again. However, Sonic and his friends were able to access the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds, transforming Sonic into Super Sonic. Super Sonic's aura neutralized Perfect Chaos and relieved the water spirit of the turmoil in its heart. Tikal then joined Chaos as they ascended toward the heavens and disappeared. Knuckles the Echidna Knuckles is the last living descendant of the Knuckles Clan and believed to be the sole surviving member of the echidna race in the modern age. He had lived his entire life alone on the airborne Angel Island until het me Dr. Eggman, an evil scientist who planned on using the Master Emerald to further his goals of world domination. Around this time, Knuckles also met Sonic the Hedgehog, whom he had been duped into thinking was a thief after the Master Emerald. Despite their adversarial beginnings, Knuckles and Sonic have since become good friends and have worked together to protect the world from Eggman and other threats. Knuckles, like Tikal, has an innate connection to the Master Emerald and can sense its location and draw upon its power when he needs to. Having been left the solemn duty of guarding the Master Emerald, he rarely leaves Angel Island, normally only doing so when the world is at risk.Category:Sonic the Hedgehog Category:Tribes Category:Clans